Reports find elections chief overcharged jurisdictions

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- A state review has concluded that St. Charles County elections director Rich Chrismer charged local governments for the same election-related tasks that federal grant money was used for.

As a result, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Chrismer has returned $113,000 in federal grants. Chrismer says he hadn't realized the mistake, but returned the grant money in May.

Meanwhile, the county's auditor and finance director says Chrismer overcharged cities, school districts and other local governments $221,368 for election costs from 2008 through last year. He insists no overcharging occurred.